Shoe-fastening.



A. ASSORATI.

SHOE FASTENING.

PPLIoATIoN FILED JAN.22,1908.

910,771. Y r Panntea Jan.26,19o9.

subject of the King of Italy, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and AN'rENoR Assonii'ri, 'or NEW YORK, N. Y.

' V SEOE-FASTE'NmG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1909.

implication mei :um 22, iena. serai No. 412,145.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AN'rENoR Assoiwii, a

State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Fastenings, of. which the following-is a specification.

- My invention relates to shoe fasteningsl with the object in view of providing means for readilyf opening and closing the ilaps at the front o e shoe upper for putting on and taking off the shoe without the labor and delay of buttoning or lacing.

A practical embodiment of my invention isrepresented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view .of a portion of ashoe upper in side elevation showing the fastening thereon as it apipears when the flaps are closed, Fig. 2 is a ont view of the same, Fig.l 3 is a similar view showing the front open, Fig. 4 is an enlarged section in the plane of the line A-A of Fig. 1 Fig. 5 is a view in detail of a series of fastening devices connected together, and Fig. 6 is an edge view of the saine.

The shoe upper is denoted by 1. It is pro' vided along opposite sides o'f theopening at the front with series of eyelets in a manner quite similar to that in which shoes now inv common use are provided for receiving a lacing. The eyelets on one side arel denoted by 2 and on the opposite side by 3. To each o these series of eyelets, there -is secured a iiat strip of leather or other suitable material or a continuous at strip of leather or other material may pass down one side ofthe shoe o ening and up the opposite side` the part w 'ch passes along the series of e elets 2 being denoted by 4 and the art whic passes alon the series of eyelets 3 eing denoted by 5. the present instance, the parts 4 and 5 are formed in one piece and are stitched'to the shoe vamp at 6 ]ust below the lower end ofthe opening in the front. These strips of leather 4 and 5'have their-adjacent edges rovidedwith a iilling cord 7 (see Fig. 4) w ch may be in practice a hard braided or twisted cotton cord and this may be secured in a bight of thestrip 5 b making the stri 5 in two 'thicknesses as c early shown in `liiig 4 o Y The cord 7 maybe held in position by a se;

ries of stitches 8 connecting the two-ply in proximity to the osition o'f the cord 7. The

opposite edges o the strips 4 and 5 may =be scalloped as shown at 9 to give the strips an ornamental and iinished appearance when applied to the exterior of the upper as in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.. These strips 4 and 5 may be secured to the upper 1 by means of lacings 10 and 11 in or er to allow their corded edges to rest in proximity to each other when the opening in the shoe front is closed and at the same time ermit lthe fastening to accommodate itsel to the variation 1n the shapes of dierent insteps. In the present instance, the lacings 10 and 11 are each double passing through each successive eyeletl in opposite directions and having their ends fastened vtogether at the top, as denoted at 12. Along the corded edges of the strips 4 and 5 one or more sliding clips 13 are located, in the present instance, three of such cli s being employed, each clip being provide with a pair of open eyelets 14, l5, see Fig. 4, of a size sufficient to receive with an easy sliding fit said l,corded edges.

The o enings in the eyes are intended to be ljust wi e enough to allow the strips 4 and 5 adjacent to the corded edges to pass through but not wide enough to permit the corded Yedges to pass through so that the clips will be retained in position when once slid onto the corded parts and will be removable trom the corded edges only b being slid off the upper ends of the same. Io hold these clips at the pro er distances aplart when the shoe upper 1s c osed as when t e shoe is fastened on the foot of the wearer, I provide a flexible s acing device which may consist of a cor or chain 16 inthe present instance an endless chain provided at intervals with knots or collars17 for engaging the opposite sides of erforated ears 18, 19, projecting outwardly rom the opposite ends of the clip.

In o eration, when the shoe upper is open to receive the foot, the clips are in the position shown in Fig. 3, bunc ed at thebottoni of the opening. As soon as the foot has entered the shoe, the spacing device 16 may be caught by the finger and the parts brought into the plositioii shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the loo at t e upper end of the spacing device A16 eing then thrown over the tops of the corded edges as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to hold the cli-ps in osition.

When it is desired to remove the shoe, the loop may be4 removed from the up er end of the corded edges and the clips us ed down in an instant into the position s own in Fig.

i io

3, and the shoe then removed from the foot. The number of these clips as hereinabove suggested, may be one or more depending upon Whether the shoe be a 10W shoe or high shoe and de ending also upon the number of pointsfat W ich it is desirable to fasten the shoe and the said clips may be plain, as herein shown, on their outer surfaces or, as is obvious, they may be ornamented to suit the taste of the wearer. They may be made of silver or other precious metal or of some metal such as aluminium, or simply brass or some cheaper metal and japanned or blackened as may be desired.

It is obvious that the strips 4 and 5 might be permanently secured to the op osite edges of the shoe upper at the front 1n the event the shoe is fitted to the 'foot as Where shoes are made to order, thelacing being used for those eases Where some fitting is depended upon to bring the meeting edges to gether Without undue pressure on the foot.

What I claim is The combination with a shoe upper provided With enlarged edges along the opposite Walls of its opening, of sliding clips provided With open eyes for engaging sald enlarged edges and with eyes extending outwardly from their opposite ends, and spacing and operating cords passing through said eyes at the opposite ends of the sliding clips.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two witnesses, this tWenty-iirst day of January, 1908.

ANTENOR AssoRATi.y

Witnesses:

F. GEORGE BARRY, HENRY THrEME. 

